The impact of managing electricity consumption on consumers

Institution: University of Manchester

Dept/School/Faculty: EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Power Networks

PhD Supervisor: Dr S Mander

Application Deadline: Applications accepted all year round

Funding Availability: Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

Student background required: 

The project is suitable for students from a wide range of background, however an interest in qualitative research, and a desire to work with consumers is essential 

Benefit to / Impact on Industry: 
This project takes a socio-economic perspective to explore the role of demand response in providing system flexibility. It will consider the impact and feasibility of different approaches to demand response and their impact on end users and the electricity network. 

What novelty will the student base their PhD on? 
The student will develop a framework for exploring the impacts of alternative approaches to managing electricity consumption, and work with consumers to understand the impact of these approaches at different scales, including households, businesses and upon electricity networks. 

Project overview: The electricity network is evolving to respond to a more intermittent, and potentially more decentralised, pattern of supply and less predictable demand. End users may become more active in the operation of the network through the use of ‘demand response’, entailing more flexible management of their electricity consumption to respond to the needs of the network or through the use of demand side management for the provision of system balancing services in the event of unexpected events. 

This project work with consumers to consider the impact and feasibility of different approaches to demand response and their impact on end users and the electricity network. 

Outline Proposed Project Plan: 
Year 1: Taught courses and preparatory study 
Year 2: Use case studies to map out a range of alternative approaches to electricity demand management, for both centralised and decentralised electricity supply 
Year 3: Develop a framework to assess the impact of alternative approaches on both consumers and the electricity network 
Year 4: Use the approaches developed in year 3 to work participatively with consumers to assess the impacts of demand management and the impacts on the electricity network

Funding Notes:

This project is funded by EPSRC, the University of Manchester and our Industry partners. Funding is available to UK candidates. EU candidates are also eligible if they have been studying or working continuously in the UK for three or more years (prior to the start date of the programme). The successful candidates will have their fees paid in full and will receive an enhanced maintenance stipend. 

See here for information on how to apply and entry requirements: www.power-networks-cdt.manchester.ac.uk/study/projects-apply